Cover Story: The Thirty-Year ItchBy Robert DreyfussAmid the 1970s oil crisis, a group of Washington hawks laid out a plan for U.S. domination of the Persian Gulf. Three decades later, the Bush administration is moving in for the endgame.

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Outback Nightmares & Refugee DreamsBy Charles BowdenWhen a few thousand asylum seekers hit its shores, Australia responded with a naval blockade, internment camps, and deportation. Now other nations are looking to the “Pacific Solution” as the way to be rid of refugees.

Up Against Wal-MartBy Karen OlssonPoverty wages, unpaid overtime, surveillance cameras, and an all-out war on unions: It takes more than everyday low prices to be the world’s largest, most profitable retailer.

A Tale of Two ChinasPhoto Essay By James Whitlow Delano Text by Orville SchellIn the new China, growth is good, and history is, well, history.

Living in an Age of FireBy Joann WypijewskiWith some of their sons and brothers accused of being a “sleeper cell,” the Yemenis of Lackawanna, New York, have faced the nation’s small-town suspicion with silence.

The Patient PredatorBy Kevin PattersonExperts call it an “emerging epidemic” and “Ebola with wings.” It preys on poverty and rides the currents of globalization. It’s becoming immune to antibiotics. It’s tuberculosis — and it’s deadlier than ever.